Council Decide Staff Have to Pay to Park at the Town Hall

The Council have issued a decree that from 1st June all staff permits that were issued in January for a year will be null and void as they now want staff to pay £10 a year to park at the Town Hall. This will only be offered to staff actually employed at the Town Hall, all other staff who have business at the Town Hall will have to pay the pay and display price or park elsewhere.

The Council’s actions with regard to car use by employees have been punitive to say the least. First of all, in January the Council withdrew for the National Agreement and stopped paying essential car user allowance. It now only pays mileage rates in accordance with HMRC guidance. Secondly, and at the same time, the Council imposed a contractual term on all staff that it regards as essential car users. The term basically ensures that the Council can instruct staff to use their own personal vehicles for work and can discipline them if they fail to do so. Prior to that the Council had turned the Town Hall car park into a pay and display car park. All Council staff though could obtain a permit for free so that they could park if they worked there or had business there. Those free permits expired on 2nd January 2013. Now the Council are introducing a £10 annual fee and that is only for the staff who actually work at the Town Hall.

UNISON has not been consulted at all regarding these unfair charges which the Council intend to impose on us. If they do succeed then they will probably increase the charge year on year until we are paying exorbitant fees just to be able to park our cars at our workplace when some of us are being told we have to bring our cars to work or face disciplinary action.

If we do want to resist this change then UNISON locally would suggest that members do not pay the £10 fee and that we stop using the Town Hall car park even though that will be inconvenient and difficult.